Gabriel's Honey
by VerbaVolant
Summary: Naomi needs the Winchester line to continue, to produce the next generation of vessels, and sends a Cupid to target Dean, the result was not what anyone had planned. A series of drabbles, mostly fluffy but some major angst at times as well, like candy floss with the occasional sour candy embedded in it. Warnings for minor Destiel.
1. Chapter 1

I do not own Supernatural.

"Hello boys, fancy seeing you here." Gabriel commented with a smirk, earning himself glares from the Winchesters and a puzzled look from his younger brother.

"I don't suppose you had anything to do with the werewolf attacks?" Sam asked warily.

"Nothing, cross my heart, but I did hear something rather interesting." He let the sentence hang there, but the Winchesters merely stared rather than rising to the bait. "Someone has a target on his back." Gabriel's smirk grew wider.

"Like that's anything new." Dean responded grumpily. "You got anything more than that?"

"Cupid, top priority, seems Naomi wants you put out to stud Deano, love, kiddywinks and the white picket fence, aren't you lucky?" Gabriel commented, watching their faces carefully, he couldn't help but feel a ripple of satisfaction at the concern and frustration on his little brother's face, he nearly hadn't come, after all it was hardly his concern if the grouchier brother got a slightly artificial happy ever after, but he remembered the way Castiel had looked at Dean...

"And we should believe you why?" Dean asked, though he was beginning to look around somewhat cautiously, of course that was the moment the Cupid arrived, not that the humans could see it, and everything happened rather fast, Castiel moved to protect Dean, and Gabriel flung his wings wide to catch the projectile before it could hit Castiel, more on instinct than anything else, and the next thing anyone knew Gabriel and a confused looking young woman were gazing at each other with wide eyes and the Cupid was staring at the situation with a look of horror on his face.

"Cas, what's going on? Is it here?" Dean asked, as he turned in a tight circle, hands wide as if he could fend off arrows he couldn't see. Meanwhile Gabriel approached the woman, eyes fixed on her.

"I am so sorry brother, I can fix this just don't..." Cupid began moving towards the pair, when Gabriel snapped his fingers and they both disappeared, the cupid sighed.

"You caused an Archangel to become enamoured of a human woman." Castiel spoke heavily. "And you did it trying to shoot Dean Winchester. Tell your garrison that the Winchesters are under my protection and any future attempts will be met with the full force of my wrath."

"Cas, what's happening?" Sam asked as Castiel seemingly glared at thin air and Gabriel had popped off with someone.

"The Cupid struck Gabriel by mistake, I believe he was acting to protect me. Gabriel presumably believes himself to be in love with the woman intended to be paired with Dean. It will wear off, the arrows are intended for mortals not angels, but I do not know what he will do in the meantime. I have to look for him, but he has a lot of experience with not being found if he does not wish to be, and I do not want to leave you unguarded." Castiel responded, shifting uncomfortably.

"It will be all-right Cas, you said yourself, it will wear off..." Sam commented soothingly. "If I'm honest I'm more concerned about her, she's human right? So what will happen to her?"

"The bonds work reciprocally, so that they will fade when one person dies, it may take longer, but once Gabriel has purged it from his system it will fade from hers as well." Castiel frowned as he spoke, it was an inconvenient situation.


	2. Chapter 2

I do not own Supernatural. Warnings for pre-Destiel.

They were in a rather large empty room, the three of them, Dean, Sam and Castiel, had broken into the local university and were borrowing one of the lecture theatres, though Castiel still hadn't explained why exactly, but one look at the anger on Castiel's face and they'd gone along with it. Now he stood painting an enochian symbol on the teacher's desk with some of Dean's blood as the two brothers looked at each other with concern. There had been a second attempt on Dean, within an hour of the first, by a different cupid, this one had involved Cas gripping the arrow before it left the bow and breaking both bow and arrow over his knee before storming here.

"Uh... Cas?" Dean finally asked tentatively.

"One more moment Dean." He responded before placing his hand on the symbol and muttering something angrily. Suddenly the room was filled with naked men... or rather angels... at least Dean hoped that Cas's solution to Gabriel being shot by a cupid involved a room full of cupids rather than a room full of naked men... "Assembled Garrisons of the Cupids, Messengers of God's love for his children and of theirs for one another, I, Castiel, Angel of Thursday, Messenger of God's Plan and Advocate of Free Will, have called you here to make one thing abundantly clear. Anyone who attempts to do anything to the Winchesters will find themselves answering to me." Castiel's deep voice rumbled with threat as he glared at the cupids.

"But it's the will of heaven?" One of the cupids in the front row was foolish enough to object and Cas was on him in an instant, his blade pressed to the man's throat. "You... you would kill your own brother for these humans?"

"I have killed my brothers for him before, I have died for him, I have given him all that there is of myself time and again and anyone that plans to lay a finger on either of these two will have to go through me if there is a single spark of grace in me." Dean couldn't help but notice the use of the singular in much of Cas's statement... it dug at him, he knew he was behind a lot of Cas's actions, but he wasn't quite comfortable with the devotion in the angel's voice.

"Cas... I think he gets the point." Dean commented, stepping forward slightly, moving to tug Castiel's arm gently.

"Castiel, Angel of Thursday and thrice resurrected." The cupid said, blinking, his voice held wonder, surprise and curiosity, his fear at the blade lost in some realisation. "This man, he is your candle in the long night, your water in the stretching desert sands and your faith in the ruins of a church?" There seemed to be more to the question than just the words, and they were heavy enough, the cupid said them like he was repeating them and they were thick with meaning.

"Now hang on a moment... Cas?" Dean tugged again on the angel's arm but he didn't move.

"Yes." The word dropped from Castiel's lips as bluntly as anything else he said but firm, before he released the naked man, turning his back on Dean slightly and studying the floor intently as he continued speaking. "My grace reflects his soul and he is the pinnacle of father's blessings." The poetic terms sounded odd coming from Cas, but he said them as simply as a statement of fact, lending more evidence to the growing feeling in Dean's gut that the words meant something, something he wasn't quite picking up on, aside from the cupid seeming to be trying to get Cas to admit something... was he... was he saying what he thought he was saying?

"Dean Winchester, Righteous Man and rebellious Michael's Sword." The cupid turned on Dean with a look that frankly had him taking a step back before he realised it, he'd never thought he'd be afraid of a cupid, but something about this one and the way all the others seemed to be holding their breaths, peering closer, it had his heart in his throat. Not that he thought it would hurt him... just... something...

"Please, Anael, do not ask this of him." Castiel murmured, still facing away.

"You called us here and you threatened me and my brothers, and NOW you feel it has gone far enough? The entire host of cupids, all seven garrisons, you would destroy us all for him, and yet your words beg me not to do what every shred of your grace bids me do? No Castiel, I have heard your answer and I will hear his." The quiet determination in his voice softened as he continued. "You forget in demanding of us in such a manner, we are not soldiers, I do not doubt you could defeat us in a fight, but we are love, and it is because I love you brother that I ask this." He turned back to Dean. "Dean Winchester, Righteous Man and Rebellious Michael's Sword." Dean swallowed, glancing nervously at Castiel who still refused to meet his eyes. "This angel, he is your hope in the fiery depths of despair, your faith when heaven turns from you and your love when you cannot love yourself?" Amael met Dean's eyes and Dean couldn't help but think of the phrasing the angel had chosen, fiery depths of despair, Cas had saved him from hell, and then Cas had stood by them as they fought heaven and hell both to prevent the apocalypse and love... the moment stretched Cas had been there for him when he was at his lowest, when he thought he was worthless and didn't deserve saving.

"Dean... you don't have to..." Castiel began but Dean cut him off.

"Yes." Castiel's eyes shot to his, wide with surprise as he turned to face him. Whatever this weird thing going on was whatever it meant, it basically seemed to boil down to a test, to see if they would stick together, if Dean would stand up for Castiel like Cas had for him and the answer was yes. "Uh... he's..." Dean felt he should say something more, something poetic but all that came to mind was a song he'd heard on the radio the other day that seemed to fit. "He's my angel with a shot gun."

"Dean I've never had a firearm." Castiel frowned, making Dean smile, Amael nodded approvingly.

"Samuel Winchester, you are Dean's brother in arms, spirit and blood, do you accept Castiel in your heart?" Sam started at suddenly being addressed, he had a horrible feeling he knew exactly what this was all about and Dean was going to blow a fuse when he figured it out...

"Sure... but don't you think you should..."

"Brothers." Amael ignored Sam's comment after his agreement instead turning to the ranks of cupids behind him. "We are Castiel's brothers in our father's service, love and grace, do you accept Dean Winchester in your hearts?" The resounding chorus of 'yes' was nearly deafening, each cupid seeming to shout it at the top of their lungs, before settling down. "Then as a representative of our father's love for you both I proclaim the blessing and protection of the seven garrisons upon your hearts and Naomi can kiss my hairy pink ass if she has a problem with it." Amael let the seriousness drop as he clapped them both on the shoulder.

"Congratulations Mr and Mrs Castiel." Sam commented with a smirk as the penny finally dropped and Dean stared wide eyed with shock at Cas, whose face was a picture of concern, guilt, fear of rejection, that Dean hadn't really meant what he said. And perhaps Dean hadn't not quite the way the cupid seemed to expect, but damn it if he was going to let Cas stand their with that vulnerable look on his face when he could do something about it, especially in front of so many of his brothers. He gripped the back of the angel's neck and planted one on him, surprised that the stubble bothered him less than he expected, and just how soft Cas's lips felt still it was just a kiss right?

A/N

Went a lil soppy there, but we'll head back to find out what Gabe's up to next Chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

I do not own Supernatural.

Third drabble in and still no reviews :( Ah well, I liked the mushiness last time anyway :P

Angels don't sleep, so there Gabriel was, just lying and watching her sleep. She was exhausted, not that either of them were complaining, and had fallen asleep sticky and satisfied and though a snap of his fingers had removed all evidence of the honey from the bed, the little smile in the corner of her mouth remained. As her eyes began to shift slightly and she slid into wakefulness he pressed his lips to that little smile, just as he'd been wanting to for the last few hours.

"Pancakes, Waffles or Banana Split for breakfast do you think?" He asked as he snapped his fingers for the items in question.

"Gabriel, sweetheart, it's been a wonderful few days but sooner or later I do need to actually eat some regular food, not just sweets all the time." She responded with a smile.

"Whatever you want sugar." The pancakes and waffles shifted to scrambled eggs on toast and cereal, but Gabriel helped himself to the banana split, digging a spoon in for a big mouthful as she she pecked him on the cheek. It was a few mouthfuls in before he started feeling odd, a strange ache in his head and it kept getting worse, and then he began to feel nauseous.

"Gabriel!" He heard her shout as his head thunked against the headboard, then, as suddenly as it came it passed, and he was looking up at concerned eyes.

"I'm fine cupcake, I just... one of my brothers needs me." Castiel had called him more than once, it wasn't that, it was that damned cupid's arrow wearing off, he remembered now, for all the good that was. None of his brothers were going to be any good with advice on how to let her down gently, maybe he could drop the Winchesters into a soap opera for a bit and see how they handled dumping women who were head over heels... that thought helped him manage a slight smile. "I'll be back soon, is there anything you might need in the meantime?"

"No... are you sure you're okay?" He nodded. "Be careful, I love you." He nodded again and disappeared, after all what could he say to that?

"Castiel." Gabriel said as he appeared in one of those cheap motel rooms the Winchester boys always insisted on renting, right before his brother dumped foul smelling liquid on his head. "Yuck."

"You are not in love with that woman, you were struck by an arrow."

"I know that, what on Earth is this stuff?" Gabriel asked shaking his hands, he tried to will himself clean and dry but whatever it was wouldn't respond.

"A mixture of herbs and holy oil, it is designed to help speed your recovery from the arrow's effects. We tried to find you and to call you sooner to apply it, but you would not respond and are remarkably adept at hiding yourself."

"Yeah dude, it's one thing hanging a sock on the door, it's another thing hiding the sock and the door and the damn hotel." Dean commented wryly, Gabriel was about to respond when he noticed something different about him... looking closer at Dean and Castiel he broke into a broad smile.

"I see congratulations are in order, and nobody thought to let me organise the stag night? I'm hurt." Never let it be said Gabriel was too focused on his own problems to keep his mind on the important things, like teasing the Winchester boys and his little brother. "I'm so glad you finally made an honest angel out of Castiel. Please tell me you at least saved me some of the cake?"

"There was no cake." Castiel responded.

"How the hell did you know about it, have you been looking in our heads again?" Dean accused.

"It's right there on your soul and Castiel's grace, like a wedding band Deano, speaking of which." Gabriel snapped his fingers and both Dean and Cas were sporting their very own rings.

"The cupids would have kept targeting Dean, now they won't." Castiel said his voice might have seemed his usual matter of fact if you weren't listening for it but there, almost hidden, was a trace of despair, of wistfulness. "It was the simplest solution." The frown on Dean's face and the bitchface Sam was pulling showed that they'd noticed it too.

"Right, well once you help me sort out a plan for dealing with... Rachel, then I'll set you up with a nice honeymoon, I'll even babysit Sam for you so you don't have to worry about him. What do you say?" The three glares only stretched Gabriel's grin wider. He was expecting Sam to complain about not needing babysitting or Dean to whine about not being married, but they just sighed.

"Wait, you've been with this woman for the best part of a week and you struggle to remember her name?" Sam asked.

"Well we weren't doing a lot of talking if you catch my drift..."

"I did not need that mental image." Dean grumbled. "For five days?"

"What? Is my baby bro's stamina not what you hoped? She had to sleep and do... human things for some of the time but basically."

"We have not, that is to say Dean and I have not indulged in the carnal aspect of a bond." Castiel stated, causing Dean to pull a 'what the hell is he telling Gabriel that for' face.

"Like I said, honeymoon, three weeks on a private little desert island should do the trick, any longer and you'd probably start getting withdrawal symptoms from not killing anything."Gabe winked at Dean. "I'll cover for you, I mean what is it you two exactly do, drive around, cause trouble, kill things, occasionally save the world, Sammy here can handle the driving and I'm a trickster a pagan god and an archangel, I think the rest of the job description is more than covered by my resume. And in the meantime." Gabe clicked his fingers and a three tier cake stand, with the bottom layer holding a chocolate cake studded with lollipops, the second tier holding a large pie and the top with a chocolate and marzipan Impala with Dean in the driving seat and Cas in the passenger and 'just married' written on the side.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Supernatural.

Thank you to N. and missdiggerz for my first two reviews! Yay!

"The woman continues to call upon me." Castiel stated heavily as he sat in the back of the Impala, it had been over a fortnight since they had returned from their forced 'honeymoon' and Rachel was still praying to Cas with condolences over his 'dead' brother. Prayers that Cas greeted with what Dean could have sworn was irritation before his eyebrows suddenly raised slightly, the equivalent of a spit take in anyone else.

"What is it Cas?" Dean asked at the expression.

"It appears I will be an uncle. Gabriel, it is imperative that you speak with me." He was soon joined in the back seat by the other angel.

"What is it baby bro? Is this about me baby sitting the samsquatch for a few days so you can get a bit if nookie, because I was kind of busy..." Sam would have glared at him but he was too busy processing Castiel's news.

"Congratulations Gabriel, Rachel believes herself to be with child..."

"I told you faking your death was a bad idea, now what are we going to do about the baby?" Sam said in a condescending tone of voice.

"I am concerned for mother and child, a human mother carrying a child with angelic power could be dangerous. I will assess the situation on a physical front, you discuss the personal matters. I doubt I would be of much use in such a conversation and Rachel is most upset, I should answer her." Castiel vanished. Gabriel just sat there looking gobsmacked.

"I didn't even know angels COULD have children." Dean commented.

"As far as I know this will be the first..." Gabriel responded, his usual banter off, he hadn't even commented on how the things Dean didn't know could fill a library, several in fact, he seemed more to be thinking out loud than really reacting to Dean. "Angels very rarely have sex, aside from me and maybe Castiel if you've gotten past your prudishness." Dean scowled but Gabe wasn't paying attention. "It must have been the effects of the arrow, they're designed to help ensure that the right people are born, so perhaps there's a fertility enhancing aspect..." Gabriel frowned, idly making a lollipop appear and sticking it in his mouth before pulling a face and pulling it out to glare at it. "Lemon?" He scowled changing it to strawberry as he seemed to shake himself a little.

"So..." Sam turned in the passenger seat slightly to focus on Gabriel, speaking in a gentle voice so as not to freak him out more than unexpectedly finding out he could and would be a father. "How do you feel about it? Are you okay?"

"Uh, sure Sammy, I'll be fine. I just... need to think." Sam gritted his teeth slightly at being called Sammy but didn't press the issue just now.

"Physically both Rachel and your daughter are fine, but she seems to be crying again, and I do not think that will be good for the baby..." Castiel commented awkwardly as he reappeared.

"Can you blame her?" Sam asked. "She thinks she's basically alone in the world and will have to deal with a superpowered baby..."

"You should talk with her." Gabe suggested with the barest hint of his usual mischievous look.

"That is a good suggestion, Samuel is good with comforting upset people without resorting to sex." Castiel replied.

"Hey, wait!" Sam and Cas disappeared, Dean let out a short bark of laughter at the look on Sam's face just before Cas grabbed him.

"You know you can't just pawn her off on us all the time, you have to deal with this yourself at some point."

"Don't tell me what I can and can't do, I got into this mess by saving Castiel from the arrow, and he wouldn't have been in danger if he wasn't always traipsing around after you, and then you didn't even so much as snuggle on your honeymoon. My poor brother's crazy about you and you're all hung up on the fact he's got a penis."

"Hey, quit spying on us you pervert." Dean spat with a glare in the rear view mirror.

"Who says I was spying?"

"Well how else would you know what me and Cas were up to?"

"I asked." There was a moment of silence...

"You asked..."

"And Castiel told me the only physical contact the pair of you had was when he rubbed sun cream on you." Gabriel grinned at the look on Dean's face, he needed to talk to Cas about what he should and shouldn't discuss with his brothers... why were they talking about him anyway?

"You've got bigger things to worry about than what me and Cas did with three weeks on a private island, what are you going to tell Rachel?"

"Hmmm, you don't suppose I could pretend to be my own twin brother do you? Or just make her forget all about it and I can just pop up and tell her she's miraculously pregnant, like I did with Mary?"

"I thought Mary was a virgin? You made her forget getting pregnant?"

"Well we couldn't have her remembering what God's cum face looked like." Gabriel said with a wry smirk and Dean couldn't tell if the archangel was joking or not...


	5. Chapter 5

I do not own Supernatural.

Warning, this chapter is a lot less fluffy than most so far... there's violence and stuff...

It was less than a month from the due date, Rachel had been staying at Bobby's for much of the pregnancy, which both brothers knew that he would have complained about but secretly loved if he was still around. Dean had complained that it should be Gabe's job to deal with things, but as Castiel pointed out Gabriel was not the most reliable of angels, and they were the child's uncles, Castiel by blood and Dean by angel-marriage... or at least that was the gist of it. He still hoped his brother would come around once the child was born. Sam meanwhile was diving right into it, and insisting he wanted to be the godfather, even going to the maternity classes, he was doing really well with Rachel, if a little paranoid, but then you couldn't blame him for that, after what had happened to their mother.

Sam was out of town searching for a rare book and Dean had been roped into painting the spare room that was being converted into a nursery, grumbling the whole time, when it happened. Demons attacked. Thankfully Rachel had gotten to the panic room but Dean was grabbed by four demons as he ran towards her, strong ones at that. He thought to Cas and Gabriel quickly but as soon as they showed up there was a bright flash of light and they disappeared again, Dean was bodily turned to see Crowley with his hand pressed to an angel banishing rune.

"Hello Dean, it's been a while. A little birdie told me you have a baby nephilim on your hands, or nearly anyway." He commented, stepping away from the symbol and wiping his hand on a handkerchief. "I just had to come and see for myself, but it seems the expectant mother has gone and hidden herself away, why don't you help me convince her to come out."

"Never."

"Excellent. Come on out now Ducky, or I'll taking parts off Dean here." He called into the panic room.

"Don't do it, stay in there... ooof." Dean couldn't help the sound he made as two of the demons thumped him in the stomach, hard.

"Leave him alone." Rachel called from inside, and Dean mentally groaned, she should have stayed quiet, shouldn't have said anything, shouldn't have revealed weakness. Crowley took hold of Dean's hand, hacking off a finger, Dean bit his lip to keep from crying out, but his muffled groan still drew Rachel to the door of the room, opening it to peer out. "No... don't... Dean..."

"Just stay in... aahhh." Having been talking at the time Dean failed to clamp down on his cry as Crowley removed a second finger, kicking this one into the panic room so it bounced off Rachel's bare foot and made her cry out in shock and horror.

"I can do this all day Ducky. There's plenty of bits to take, but since fingers don't seem to be working for you." One of the demons punched Dean in the gut again, making him gasp and the other reached into his mouth, grasping his tongue with tongs and pulling it out forcibly. "And after this I'm thinking eyes." He commented idly. Dean wanted to tell Rachel that the banishing spell would wear off, that the angels would be back, with a vengeance, but he couldn't and as Crowley moved his knife about to take another piece of him off Rachel did the one thing she shouldn't have, she stepped out of the panic room."

"Stop." She said, tears in her eyes, darkness swirled forward to claim her and Dean couldn't do anything, but then as her eyes flicked black they widened and she pawed at her suddenly glowing stomach. Dean closed his eyes as a high pitched sound filled the space.

"Bugger." He could barely hear the word though he was pretty sure Crowley had shouted it, before the demons holding him disappeared and Dean fell to the floor, his hands over his ears, curling into himself for several long moments before the pressure stopped and he lowered trembling hands, blinking to clear his vision. As he tried to pull himself to his feet slipping slightly in his blood he heard the rustle of feathers that announced the arrival of two very pissed off angels and a loud crying, was that a baby?

"Dean!"

"Rachel!" Both shouted at the same time, Castiel pulling Dean upright properly as he pressed two fingers to his forehead to heal him, Gabriel dashing to Rachel, only to be shocked by the sight before him. Rachel's abdomen was a charred mess and in the middle of it a baby girl lay screaming her little head off.

"Please, don't cry honey, mummy loves you..." Rachel gasped one hand attempting to lift to try and comfort her, but unable to move from the floor properly.

"Gabriel... you're here... am I dead? But it hurts so much..."

"Shhhh now." He picked up the still glowing baby. "Castiel." The dark haired angel looked shocked as the suddenly clean and blanket wrapped baby was pushed into his arms but took her carefully before Gabriel pressed his fingers to Rachel's forehead, frowning as he struggled to heal her, it was no ordinary wound after all, but one caused by grace.

"You will have to amputate the damaged section of her soul or the body will not heal." Castiel said gravely, as the baby continued to cry in his arms. Gabriel merely nodded and soon Rachel was lying there, in one piece, without even the stretch marks she had gained during pregnancy. Dean was impressed, right up until the point where Rachel spoke.

"Who are you people? Why is there so much blood?"

"Sleep." Was Gabriel's response, as he made her do precisely that.

"You made her forget everything? I thought we agreed that messing with her memory wasn't fair on her." Dean demanded angrily as the baby continued to wail.

"Why does she continue to cry? She is unharmed and the danger to her has passed." Castiel peered at the wailing bundle with confusion.

"She's a baby, just rock her a little, say something comforting."

"I do not believe she understands English yet Dean." Castiel responded as he swung his arms from side to side experimentally, which only served to make the baby cry more.

"Just give her here." Dean sighed, claiming the baby from Castiel and carefully bouncing her in his arms soothingly. "Everything's okay, Uncle Dean is here and nobody's going to hurt you..." He murmured in a soft tone before starting to sing quietly, shooting a glare at Gabriel when he snickered but not stopping. "Hush little angel, don't you cry, Dean is gonna sing you a lullaby, and if that lullaby don't work, Dean'll stab Crowley the crossroads jerk."

"Dean I don't think that language is appropriate..." Castiel said disapprovingly, though not as much as he might have as the singing seemed to be working to quiet the baby, instead he cleared the blood up with a wave of his hand. "Dean... one of your fingers is missing."

"Crowley kicked it into the panic room." Dean said in the same sing song voice.

"No I cleansed that one from existence, it is the smallest one, it was removed from your hand but it wasn't part of the mess on the floor..."

"Odd." Dean commented before returning to his song. "And if that crossroads jerk won't die, Dean is going to buy you an apple pie..."

"I don't believe she will be ready for solids for some time." Castiel commented which only made Dean laugh, and then Gabriel, as Castiel stood there confused.


	6. Chapter 6

I do not own Supernatural.

"I can't believe you're going to just get rid of Rachel with no memory of her own child... like a disposable tissue, you've used her and now you're going to throw her away?" Sam ranted at Gabriel.

"Sam, it's not like that." Dean argued, it was a bit like that, but then again... "He had to remove her memory to heal her, and if you'd seen the size of that wound... She can't know she's the baby's mother, or she'll remember, and then who knows what would happen." He hoped Sam would understand.

"And that means we have to cut her out of our lives completely?" Dean had been worried Sam was getting a little too close to Rachel... getting attached to people was risky in their line of work at the best of times, let alone women carrying archangel babies, and now this had happened... "And we can't just keep calling her 'the baby' she needs a name."

"Well you spent the most time talking with Rachel, what did she want to name her?" Dean asked.

"She hadn't decided, there were several names we discussed Gabriella, Angelica, Samantha, Cassandra..."

"Eurgh... I hate those names." Gabriel commented. "So fussy, and blatantly based off our names apart from Angelica, we'd end up getting confused using those, Dean'd say Cas and they'd both turn round or something like that. No we need something else."

"If you're going to take everything else away from her you can at least use a name Rachel chose." Sam responded sullenly.

"Before she had her memory removed Rachel did refer to the baby as Honey." Castiel commented, unsure whether it would count as a suggestion.

"Honey... that could work." Gabriel said thoughtfully. "There was certainly enough of it involved when we were..."

"Which you are NOT to tell her, ESPECIALLY if you do call her Honey." Sam said firmly.

"What do you think Honey?" Gabe asked, waggling his fingers in front of the baby who tried to grab hold of one of them and gurgled happily. "Well I think that's settled."

"If only everything were that simple." Sam commented with a scowl and a glance to the still unconscious Rachel.

"Calm down Sam, as people involved in our lives go she got off fairly light, she's alive, she can go back to her life..." He could tell Dean was uncomfortable but trying to look on the positive side for Sam's sake.

"But what about her?" Sam gestured to the baby. "She doesn't get out of our lives, she can't, we don't know what she's capable of, and now she doesn't even get to have a normal mother." How had Dean not realised that this echoed their own loss? Perhaps because he could remember their mother a little he'd thought more about losing her, her death, than about not having known her at all...

"Sammy..." Dean sighed. "We just do what Dad did, do our best and hope it's good enough, and it won't just be her and her mostly absent dad, we had each other, she'll have us and Cas as well." He scuffed his shoe on the floor awkwardly, uncomfortable with all the mushy stuff, especially with Gabe right there... So he covered with humour. "Besides, I'm sure you'll make an excellent mum, you've got the hair for it." Sam glared slightly but accepted the pat on his shoulder with minimal irritation, acknowledging it for what it was. Dean looked at his watch. "I'll uh, I'll just warm up some more of that fortified milk mixture stuff."

"And you thought I was the motherly one." Sam teased gently, before his eyes slid sadly to Rachel with a sigh.


	7. Chapter 7

I do not own Supernatural.

In the end they took her to the Men of Letters Bunker, they hadn't wanted to show it to Gabriel, still being somewhat unsure how far they could trust him, but after the attack they had already been through it seemed the only safe place for her. They settled into somewhat comfortable domesticity after a while, when they weren't on hunts everyone chipped in, and aside from the odd argument between Gabriel and Castiel about her wings and whether they were the right size for her age, having very little to go on on the matter, it was easy to forget she was anything other than a regular baby...

She was nine months old when Sam was taking one of the books off the shelf to read her a bedtime story, no sooner had he gotten over to the crib than it vanished and reappeared on the shelf. Sam frowned, his first suspect whenever something weird happened would usually be Gabriel but he didn't see how the trickster would get much amusement from something so basic. He was on his way back to the shelf when Castiel entered the room holding one of the other books.

"I do not see the purpose of your leaving this book in my seat if you were intending to read to Honey yourself." Castiel commented to Sam.

"I didn't Cas..." He replied but Honey burbled at them.

"Ka..." She gripped the side of the crib, reaching in Cas's direction.

"I think she's trying to say your name..." Sam said in a wondering tone of voice.

"She has known me for her entire life, I understand that she was incapable of speech at first, though not why, I would have thought she would get my name right though... I am Castiel, Honey, you may call me Cas."

"Cas, she's a baby, they have to learn things."

"She has had nine months..."

"Honey, can you say Sam? Saaaam?" He leaned closer to her.

"Am." She tugged on his hair. "Ka." She reached out in Cas's direction again and the book which he had put down on the chair appeared on Cas's head, open and squashing his hair slightly.

"Gabriel, Dean, get in here!" Sam called out, Gabriel appeared with his blade out in moments, and Dean was not far behind stumbling into the room with a gun in his hand.

"You called me away from two lovely Dryads in Europe to show me that my little brother has a new fashion accessory?" Dean burst out laughing.

"Dude, you're supposed to read books not wear them."

"Gay!" Honey squealed happily her little hands clasping in the direction of Gabriel.

"She just called you gay!" Dean bent over chuckling, until that is Gabriel's angel sword disappeared and found its way into the crib with Honey who was patting it with her chubby fingers.

"No, no Honey, weapons are for grown-ups, not for you, not for babies." Sam took it away and Honey started crying.

"I believe Sam called you in to inform you of her new abilities." Cas took the book off his head. "And that she has picked up the habit of nicknames from Dean. I still do not understand what the fuss is, you were just as excited when she first slept for six hours in one go.. it is most perplexing."

"This isn't like last week when you thought she was saying hungry but she wouldn't eat anything is it?" Dean asked warily, part of him sinking, he'd kind of hoped he might be her first word, he spent more time with her than any of them, partly because he was the only one with any experience of kids.

"No, look. Honey, can you say Sam?" He picked her up, naptime forgotten for the moment.

"Am." She tugged on his hair, it was hard enough to hurt slightly but he smiled anyway.

"She could just be repeating, not calling you it Sammy..." Dean said sceptically, he wanted to believe it but part of him also wanted to deny it... he knew it was selfish wanting to be her first word but he couldn't help it. "Was that her first word?"

"No, she was trying to get Cas to read to her I think."

"Ka." Honey said as if in agreement.

"I see..." So he wasn't the first, he wasn't even second or third, he was the last one she'd called out to... even if it had been priceless seeing her call Gabriel gay...

"Unkdee." Honey squirmed in Sam's arms.

"You can't be hungry you little scamp, I only fed you half an hour ago." Dean said, taking Honey from Sam and feeling a little of the tension fade as she patted his nose and managed to poke him in the eye, he moved her hand away gently. "Now I want you to promise your Uncle Dean that you won't go poofing weapons to yourself until you're old enough for us to teach you how to use them."

"I can't believe I didn't see it before..." Sam said in an amused tone. Causing all three of the other men to look at him with confusion. "She started saying Unkdee after Dean was hurt and she wouldn't stop crying or eat anything until he came and fed her."

"It's because we all know I make the best aeroplane noises." Dean said matter of factly and earning himself frowns from both the angels whose aeroplane sounds sounded like actual aeroplanes... it was no small point of discussion that Honey seemed to prefer Dean's unrealistic ones, it was right there with the complaints about the book of animal noises.

"Or because she wasn't saying hungry at all... UNCLE Dean..."

"You mean... HA! I was her first word." Dean beamed, right up until Honey grabbed hold of his lip and tugged slightly.

"It should have been me, I'm her father." Gabriel complained.

"Well if you spent a little less time with the Dryads and a little more with Honey..." Sam began.

"The Dryads, of course! Call me when she's got enough powers to practice altering reality." And with that Gabriel vanished.


End file.
